Today in Science: Stay smart as you age

Daily science inspo June 29, 2023: Gravitational waves rumble from black holes, how to stay sharp as you age and a rogue exoplanet at the edge of our solar system. Enjoy! —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor TOP STORIES Black Hole Rumbles After nearly two decades of listening, astronomers are finally starting to "hear" the rumbles of gravitational waves they believe emanate from pairs of supermassive black holes whose powerful gravitational pull disrupts spacetime. These are much larger gravitational waves than what LIGO initially discovered in 2015, and scientists hope that they will shed light on how large galaxies like our own Milky Way grow. How it works: Since 2004, the North American Nanohertz Observatory for Gravitational Waves (NANOGrav) has monitored metronome-like flashes of light from a Milky Way-spanning network of dead stars known as pulsars. The pulsars are super predictable and the radio telescopes catch tiny variations in their rhythmic spinning caused by massive gravitational waves stretching and squeezing the space between Earth and each pulsar. What the experts say: "It's incredibly exciting because we think we're starting to open up this new window on the gravitational-wave universe," says Sarah Vigeland, an astrophysicist at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee and a member of the NANOGrav team. More: Lee Billings, our editor for space and physics, discusses the NANOgrav findings on the latest episode of Science, Quickly.   Credit: NASA's Goddard Space Flight Center/Scott Noble; simulation data, d'Ascoli et al. 2018 Lifelong Learners In most adults, learning and thinking plateau and then begin to decline after age 30 or 40. The slide becomes steeper after 60 years of age. But what if this slide in brainpower could be stopped in its tracks and reversed, much like students who come back after long summer breaks and get back into the swing? Participants in a recent study, who were 58-86 years old, took three classes a week to learn a new skill, like singing, drawing, iPad use, photography, or Spanish. Their cognitive tests improved so drastically that their abilities came to resemble those of adults 30 years younger (!) at the program's end and beyond. Why this is cool: As they age, people start to perform worse in tests of cognitive abilities such as processing speed, the rate at which someone does a mental task. But this research shows that older people have the same cognitive capacity as college students, IF they put their minds to work. What the experts say: "The question is no longer whether we should pursue learning as adults but rather how society can optimize the environment to maximize opportunities" for lifelong skill learning, write Rachel Wu and Jessica A. Church, both professors of psychology.  GRAPHIC OF THE DAY Credit: June Kim; Source: Lyme Disease Map, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (data) Lyme disease, a tick-borne illness caused by the bacterium Borrelia burgdorferi, is on the rise. Tick-borne diseases have been booming in the U.S., with major increases in Lyme in the last two decades. Tick abundance could spike this summer. A large acorn crop in 2021 helped small rodents boom. They are a key host for ticks, which spend a year in their larval stage before molting into nymphs, their most perilous stage. So this could be a big year for ticks. TODAY'S NEWS • The cold and mysterious Oort cloud at the edge of our solar system may be hiding a rogue exoplanet, new research suggests. | 2 min read • Wildfires can have mental health impacts, both among those who are directly affected and those who find themselves under a blanket of smoke. Here's how to cope. | 7 min read • Extreme rainfall is increasing in the Northern Hemisphere's mountain ranges as global temperatures rise, raising the dangers of floods and landslides. | 3 min read • Black and Hispanic women are likely to experience menopause measurably earlier than those who are white. Researchers reviewed decades of data and say the difference is possibly caused by the grinding daily stresses of racism. | 9 min read More News EXPERT PERSPECTIVES • Here's why participating in "official debate" with science deniers and anti-vaccine cranks is a bad idea: Such an adversarial format presents science and pseudoscience as equals, creating a false balance between truth and lies, writes David Robert Grimes, a scientist and author. "When evidence overwhelmingly supports one position while discrediting another, treating them as equivalent gives a misleading impression that a settled question—vaccination—is scientifically contentious," he writes. | 5 min read More Opinion Something tells me it's going to be a long, hot, smoky summer. Fun things to focus on: All these incredible new cosmological discoveries (merging black holes! Rogue exoplanets! Stellar nurseries!) to remind us how small we are; absorbing books that transport you (what are you reading?); and ICE CREAM. The Washington Post has helpfully taste-tested some popular brands and selected the winning vanilla. What's your favorite? Email me anytime about science, books and ice cream. And while you're at it, let me know how I can make this newsletter better: newsletters@sciam.com. Same time tomorrow! —Andrea Gawrylewski, Chief Newsletter Editor Subscribe to this and all of our newsletters here. Scientific American One New York Plaza, New York, NY, 10004   Support our mission, subscribe to Scientific American here   Unsubscribe Email Preferences